Dark Passion
by SteferineLove
Summary: Stefan is heartbroken when Elena chooses Damon over him. He is on the verge of losing his mind and decides to leave Mystic Falls when Katherine Pierce makes a comeback, and it obviously means trouble. What is in store for Stefan and the others now?
1. Prologue

"You don't really care about Stefan, Katherine. You only care about yourself. You are an insensitive b*ch who is incapable of love."

"You're wrong, Elena. I care about Stefan, more than you ever have. And I love Stefan, more than you ever can."

"Why do you act like you care, Katherine? Because you want something from him? You're not selfless enough to care without reason."

"I act like I care, because I care Elena. Stefan is the only shred of humanity I have left within me."

Everybody knows Katherine Pierce as manipulative, selfish and self-centered. And everyone is aware that she wouldn't hesitate to do anything it takes to survive. As this elusive Katherine Pierce is now confronted with a new enemy, she has to either fight or flee. But this time, her deepest fears are about to come true. She can either run and save herself, or fight and sacrifice her life. What would she choose . . . with the life of Stefan Salvatore at stake?

Read "Dark Passion" to divulge in the world of vampires, werewolves, jealousy, blooming friendships and most of all . . . Forbidden Romances.


	2. Chapter 1

"_You put me in a position where I have to defend you, again, where I have to bend my morals, again, where I have to go against everything single thing that I believe in, again! Because I love you!"_

"_Then stop loving me!"_

"_I can't!"_

He sat there listening, his heart breaking into a million pieces. She chose Damon. She loved Damon. He was not the one. He hated that he thought she would probably choose him, give him another chance. He hated that there was nothing he could do to heal his broken heart.

"You're listening again, aren't you?" he heard a voice behind him as someone laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Lexi… I'm seeing you again." said Stefan, as he got up and walked towards her. She came forward to hug her heartbroken best friend.

"I don't know what to do Lexi. A part of me wishes that I never got my memories back. A part of me wishes that I never came to Mystic Falls in the first place. A part of me just wishes that I could turn my humanity off and let it be that way forever. Damn it! A part of me wishes that I were still trapped in the quarry." said Stefan, his voice coming out in a hushed whisper. A lone tear was about to escape his eye, which he blinked back furiously.

"Stefan. I know it hurts. But it's not going to stay that way for long. I agree with Caroline here. One day, you'll meet someone and fall in love without even knowing it. Look Stefan, there are plenty of things to be happy for. Silas is dead. You're fine and memory is back. I'm with you, maybe not as a vampire, but as a ghost. And you know what tops the list of best things that happened? Katherine Pierce is DEAD." said Lexi, trying to cheer her best friend up.

He looked up the moment she uttered the name Katherine Pierce. Yes, she was dead. She was probably rotting somewhere in hell. She had used him and Damon for her dirty deeds. She had forced them to turn into something they hated. She had forced them to fight against each other. She lied, she manipulated, she killed innocent people and she did horrible things to survive. But, even he did. So did Damon. There was no pure soul in this world. If he considered her a heartless monster, then what did that make him?

"Stefan!" Lexi shook him out of his trance. "I know how blissful it is, imagining Katherine rotting in some dark corner of hell. Tell me how she looks there? The same pretty, yet deceitful face, or has changed to its true demonic form?" she asked, making in chuckle.

"She's dead Lexi. And she's probably at peace. Let her be. She's a true survivor, and she's not the only person who's done horrible things, right?" asked Stefan, trying to sound casual while talking about her death.

Beneath his I-don't-care-for-Katherine façade, he knew that her death somehow mattered. It made him feel sad, maybe beyond sad. She did deserve better, maybe. She didn't deserve to die, maybe. She should have been given the chance to redeem herself, maybe. So many maybes. But none of it is supposed to matter, because she is dead now. But, somehow, he found himself thinking about her. She was like slow poison that didn't affect him at once, but slowly crept in and never left.

"Stefan, you're thinking about her again, aren't you?" asked Lexi, sitting beside on the couch as she rubbed his shoulder, trying to console him.

"No. I'm not thinking about Elena. I'm happy as long as they are." he said truthfully, because all that he could do now was just accept the fact.

"I wasn't talking about Elena you idiot. I was talking about Katherine." said Lexi, giving him a stern look. "She matters to you. Doesn't she? Despite the horrible things she has done, you feel terrible about her death. Why is that Stef?"

"I don't know okay! I don't know. I didn't think I'd feel bad or guilty about her death. I don't love her. I love Elena. I probably feel bad because she was the only person who tried to help me, when I was trying to get over my PTSD. She was the only person who cared about what I felt. And even in her last moments, she wanted me to be the only person she saw before she shut her eyes forever. So yes, I feel terrible about her death." Stefan finally snapped, realising how much Katherine Pierce had affected him.

He wasn't in love her. She had done unforgivable things to him. 145 years of hatred was not a small thing to get over. The only feelings he had for her was sympathy, not love, or maybe that's what he thought.


	3. Chapter 2

He got into his car and drove away. He didn't seem to know where he was going. He just wanted to be reckless for once. Be ruthless. Not care about what's going on or who's going to get hurt. The only thing that was playing in his mind was the way Elena confessed her love for Damon.

_Fine. Then I'm not sorry either. I'm not sorry that I met you. I'm not sorry that knowing you has made me question everything. That in death, you're the one who made me feel most alive. You've been a terrible person. You've made all the wrong choices, and of all the choices that I have made, this will prove to be the worst one, but I am not sorry that I'm in love with you! I love you, Damon. I love you._

In death, Damon made her feel alive... He let that fact slowly sink in. It felt like a knife that slowly twisted itself in his heart.

"Finally you're moving out!" Stefan turned at the sound of a sudden voice. His lips pulled into a smile when he saw Lexi on the passenger seat, beaming at him.

"Didn't think I had any business left in Mystic Falls. Silas is dead. And so is Qethsiyah. Now I can happily move to another place. Drink to my heart's content and mope around all day. I don't have to bother about my hero hair anymore." said Stefan, giving Lexi a half-hearted smile."

"Alrighty! How about New York?" said Lexi, looking at the rear view mirror as she fixed her hair.

"Nope, it's a bit too close." Stefan looked straight ahead as he answered.

"Ooooh! I know! Las Vegas!" Lexi gave an excited shout.

"Nah... too tourist-y." said Stefan, laughing at her childishness.

"Okay then. Where else? Another university where you'll graduate? You've graduated for the millionth time Stefan. It's time to live your life the way you want it. Without any guilt and misery. You need to give yourself that." Lexi laid a consoling hand on his shoulder.

"What if Elena was 'the one'?" Stefan felt a lone tear escape his eye.

"Yes. She was. Elena was and will always be an epic love. For a vampire, there are multiple 'ones'. That's the beauty of eternity. The only way to find another is to let go and move on." said Lexi, giving him an encouraging smile as she stroked his hair.

"Maybe I should go to Portland. I've never been there before." Stefan turned to his side, only to find that Lexi had disappeared.

"Goodbye Lexi. I guess I'll see you again."

Where's Stefan? He's been gone for 3 days now." Elena was paranoid. Her gut feeling told her that something was wrong. Where was Stefan? They had just got him back. What if someone had done something to him again? What if Stefan himself decided to do something to himself?

"Relax Elena. Stef's not a kid. He'll come back." said Damon. He was getting worried too. But he didn't want to show it. Not yet.

"Damon please... That's what we thought when Silas dumped Stefan in the quarry. We didn't even look for him Damon." Elena found herself getting paranoid every passing minute.

"Alright. Let's call Carebear. She might know."

"What??? Stefan is missing since three days, and I get to hear about it now!" shouted Caroline on the other side of the phone.

"Caroline. We didn't want you to get worried. You are on a vacation! We thought he might come back. But he didn't." Elena tried to reason with her.

"Elena! The last time he went away, thanks to you and Damon, he was captured in a safe and dumped in a quarry! And all that time, you were just making out with Damon." Elena heard the click of the phone from the other side. She stared at her phone in dismay before throwing it down.

He didn't know where he was going. He looked out of the window only to see the bright sun rays hitting his face. He knew that he was in a car… it seemed like his car. He could a girl with brunette locks driving his precious car. As he tried to sit up on the back seat, he felt a throbbing pain on his chest, right where his heart is.

"Easy there Stefan. You've been staked with a vervain-coated stake. And you haven't been feeding. You'll take time to heal." He knew this voice a bit too well to not get startled. It felt so much like Elena's, only it had a hint of sarcasm and recklessness with it.

"Katherine…" he didn't know if he were confirming it, or accepting it. But as soon as he said her name, she turned back, a smile plastered on her beautiful face. The smile of the woman he once loved. A smile he had learnt not to trust.

"Lie back Stefan, and enjoy the ride." Katherine accelerated the car and the zoomed past wherever they were.

Katherine Pierce was supposed to be dead. But here she was, in all her beauty, driving his car with him in the backseat. Was she the one who staked him? Was it really Katherine in the first place? Or was someone playing mind games with him?

One thing he knew for sure. Katherine or not, he was surely screwed…


End file.
